14 Lauderdale Co EQIP Executive Summary

The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Lauderdale County, Alabama, will hold a sign up for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for the 2014 Fiscal Year. This signup will be held on a continuous basis. Any eligible land user who has a resource concern or problem on pastureland, cropland, forestland or hay land may apply for assistance through this program.

The USDA work group has prioritized the resource concerns in Lauderdale County as:

Erosion/Soil Quality

Grazing Lands

Water Quality/Animal Waste

Irrigation Efficiency

Forestry and Wildlife

All applications will be ranked using an environmental benefits worksheet and approvals will be given to the applicants that will provide the greatest environmental benefits, i.e. those receiving the most environmental points. Contracts will be developed for approved applications in order of descending environmental points, until all funds are obligated.

Limitations Per Contract

Pasture planting – $15,000

Cross fencing – $6,000

Pipeline – $6,000

Water troughs – $4,000

Stream crossing – $4,000

Heavy use area – $10,000

Critical area planting – $2,000

Well – must have greater than 9 animal units and no municipal water available

Conservation tillage – $9,000

Precision Agriculture – $4,400

Tree planting - $5,000

Forest stand improvement - $2,500

Pasture and hayland planting (code 512) requires a current (within past 2 years) soil test to be presented to the local office

Ponds will only be funded for livestock water, commensurate to the size of the operation, and only if municipal water is not available.

Applications will be batched and ranked. The first batching of applications will have a cut-off date of October 13, 2013. Applications filed later than this date will be considered in the next pool of funding (if additional funds become available).

The Alabama NRCS state approved EQIP Practice and Payment Schedule will be used for Lauderdale County EQIP application. Planned conservation practices used to address the priority resource concerns will come from this list.

Limited Resource Farmers, New and Beginning Farmers, and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers will be paid at an increased payment rate.